When Worlds Collide
by Imstillwaitingfortheraintofall
Summary: Supergirl AU: What if Barry wasn't the only Metahuman to cross over worlds. My own version of events (and liberties taken with events that happen in both Supergirl and The Flash) as I really think Alex and Lucy would make an interesting couple. Only Rated M as I may add some swearing/talk about naked bits, at some point
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Alex comes to with a pounding headache and a throat drier than the sahara.

The state is not unfamiliar to her, but its still just as disappointing as always.

She cracks her eyes open carefully, not wanting to risk looking straight into daylight should she have failed to close the blinds like she normally does when drunk, but then opens them wide when she doesn't recognize the duvet cover currently draping her frame. The room is still in semi darkness, the unfamiliar blinds covering the windows drawn shut, but enough seeps through for Alex to immediately know that she is not in her own apartment.

Embarrassment and a sense of shame at having gone home drunk with yet another man she doesn't know sweeps through her and she lets out a string of curses at her unending stupidity, her voice low so that she doesn't wake whoever is occupying the other side of the bed, and then carefully turns so that she can lay eyes on the latest one night stand she no doubt picked up at the bar just off base.

Alex is surprised, but also relieved, to find the other side of the bed empty and containing no evidence that it held an occupant in the recent past. The pillow is still plump and in position, the easily recognisable head dent that signalled someone had slumbered there recently glaringly absent, and Alex lets out a sigh of relief at not having to try and creep out of the bed without waking them.

She throws back the quilt and sits up, but stops instantly as two things come to her attention. One, her hangover is a doozy this time: Lightning bolts of pain shoot down her temples and race across her neck, with a nauseous feeling rolling across the pit of her stomach warningly, and two: She's completely naked.

Alex pulls the quilt back over her body, not wanting whatever random she hooked up with last night to get any more of a free show than he had already had should he choose to walk back in at this instant, and looks around the room for her clothes. Her scan of the room is unfruitful however, and Alex lets out another curse, louder this time, at being stupid enough to strand herself in some guys room without her clothes close to hand.

She is just about to stand up and raid the nearby chest of drawers for anything she can use to cover herself with when the bedroom door cracks open and light from the room beyond spills in. Alex freezes instantly, her hands tightening on the duvet around herself, and squints as the light sends off a new pounding in her head.

'I thought I heard you awake'.

The voice is relaxed in its tone, even sounding slightly amused to Alex's shocked ears as its owner steps through the door, and Alex stares in surprise at the woman standing in the doorway.

Alex's eyes follow the woman as she enters the room, the attractive brunette walking with a confident but unhurried gait, and watch as she stops just inside when she registers that Alex is just staring at her.

'Are you okay?' A frown appears between the dark brows of the woman looking at Alex, concern etching her face at the lack of reply, and the humour disappears from her voice. 'Do you need me to get something for you?'

Clo...' -Alex has to stop and clear her throat, the copious amount of alcohol she consumed the previous night robbing it of all moisture, and she has to swallow several times before she can continue. -'Clothes. You can get me my clothes'.

The frown eases from the woman's brow at Alex's words, and a small smile appears on her face instead. 'Missing them now are you?'

'Of course I'm missing them, I'm completely naked!' Alex snaps at the woman, not liking being teased, and shoots her a dirty look.

The woman raises a single eyebrow at Alex's defensive tone, though the amusement remains on her face, and crosses her arms as she leans her body against the door behind her. 'You didn't seem to worry about that last night when you left a trail of them across my living room floor'.

Alex feels her face go bright red at the woman's words, her mouth dropping open in shock as her brain suddenly short circuits, and stares at her in dumbfounded shock as she tries to process the fact that she had slept with a woman last night.

 _No, no, NO! What have I done? I'm normally so careful!_

Panic skates through Alex at the thought, knowing that she needed to get out of here fast, and tries to think of an excuse to make her escape.

She is saved the effort however when the woman across the room, who has been watching the emotions crossing her face, speaks. 'Your clothes are just behind the bedside cabinet there'.

Her voice in the otherwise silent room makes Alex jump, and she swings her eyes back to her in startled accusation. She finds the woman looking at her with an unreadable expression, the humour now gone and replaced with something much cooler, though her eyes still hold a hint of amusement.

Alex turns her eyes from the dark pair to glance at the spot indicated and finds her clothes in a neat pile tucked just out of her eye line, her bra and underwear folded neatly on top. The thought of sleeping with the woman just a few paces from her makes Alex feel funny, and a stab of disappointment at not remembering the night runs through her. The emotion catches her by surprise and she clamps down on it immediately, her walls shooting up to block it off completely.

'How do I know I was the one that took them off?'

The accusation is out of her mouth before she has time to even think, her tone full of hostility to cover the uneasiness about her feelings, and Alex swings her eyes up to look at the brunette just in time to see the shocked outrage cover her features.

' _Excuse_ me?'

The woman has gone from relaxed calm to rigid indignation, her entire body now stiff with outraged ire, and her eyes blaze with anger.

'What I meant to say was...'

'Oh I think I understand what you meant perfectly!' Alex is cut off as she attempts to backtrack, the woman taking two steps towards her before visibly stopping herself and stepping back again, trying to keep a lid on the rage boiling through her. 'I knew I should have slammed the damn door in your face the second you showed up here, begging me to let you in!'

'I showed up here alone?' Alex is shocked to hear that, as she had assumed they came back from the bar together.

Let me get this straight'- The agitated woman runs a hand through her shoulder length hair, sending the loose waves tumbling about in a riot of glorious strands, as she counts the points off on the fingers of her other hand. 'You hit on me in the bar, then freak out when I turn you down. You turn up on my doorstep begging me to let you in so you can apologise, but then strip all your clothes off and try to jump me the moment the door is closed. After that you freak out, again, and burst into tears when I turn you down for a second time, and pass out on me just after I ask you to leave. Yet you _STILL_ have the audacity to accuse me of sexual assault the moment you wake up?!'

Alex blanches as the avalanche of information about her behaviour the previous night hits her, the raw fury with which the diminutive woman spits her list of unacceptable actions validating the truth of her words, and Alex realises how awful her accusation sounds after everything she did.

'I...I should leave'. Alex's voice is small, sounding nothing like her normal forceful self, and she is unable to look the woman in the eye as she talks.

'Finally, something we both agree on'. The woman sneers at Alex's statement, her tone now cold enough to freeze ice, and full of condescension. 'I'm going to leave first though, as I suddenly have the urge to punch something at the gym, and I'd appreciate it if you tried to refrain from accusing me of anything else as you make your way out of my apartment'.

With that said she spins on her heel and leaves the room, the door slamming behind her, and then the fainter sound of the front door slamming announces her departure from the apartment. Alex raises her head to look at the closed door, then drops it into her hands and sighs heavily. 'Jesus Danvers, you are such a fucking screw up'.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

'Oh, shit'.

Alex groans the words quietly, though Kara's super hearing still picks it up, and she turns to look at her sister questioningly.

Alex flushes and looks away from the corner of the room where she'd just spotted a glimpse of the woman from the worst morning after experience she'd ever encountered stood talking to the Commander in Chief of the base, and into the curious eyes of her sister. She shakes her head to indicate that this is not the place to discuss it, and finds herself thinking back to that day.

 _After the woman had stormed out of her own apartment Alex had gotten dressed hurriedly, not eager to remain in the home of a woman she had just accused of something pretty serious, and walks out of the bedroom into the living area. The apartment is spacious, the living room and kitchen separated only by a breakfast island, and the far wall, which leads out to a private balcony, is a set of full length French windows._

 _Alex can't help letting out a low whistle at the sight, the swanky apartment far better than the one she currently has (she spends far longer hours at the D.E.O. than she does at home so figures it doesn't matter, and knows that whomever this woman is, she clearly has a pretty lofty position with the military._

 _Just as Alex is contemplating trying to find a piece of mail with the woman's name on it so that she can send her an apology letter once she's sobered up properly, a beep sounds from the answering machine, and the brunettes voice fills the air. " **Hey, It's Lucy. You know what to do** ". _

_The beep for the person on the other end of the phone to start talking sounds, and a female voice comes through. 'Lucy, it's Lois. Look, I know you've said you don't feel comfortable talking to me, and I understand why, but please can you consider just giving me another chance. I would really like it if you would talk to me about the flying thing, off the record I swear, as I'd like to introduce you to someone who knows a little about what it might be like for you. If you do change your mind, just call my cell, or try me at the Planet. Thanks, bye'._

 _Alex stares at the flashing red light on the answer machine, trying to work out why Lois Lane, star reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis, is calling and asking, no in actual fact it sounded more like begging, this woman to talk to her about flying (is she a pilot for the military?)._

 _The beep sounds for the end of the message, signalling that Lois has hung up, and Alex takes it as her cue to leave too._

Lucy. Her name is Lucy.

Alex would be lying to herself if she said she hadn't thought about Lucy in the four days since that morning, in fact it was pretty much the only thing she _had_ done, as her subconscious seemed intent on making her relive every moment of their interaction as often as possible, and over the few days subsequent to their not so civil parting, Alex's memory of what had happened that night had slowly started to return.

Alex can feel Kara's eyes boring into her, no doubt dying to ask why she can hear Alex's heart going crazy inside her chest, and looks at the exit longingly. If she made a break for it now she could probably make it, just walk straight out the building and not stop until she made it back to the apartment she is sharing with Kara during her stay here, ignoring everyone and everything in favour of climbing under her duvet and just blocking out the world for the rest of the day.

It's a tempting image, and one that she wishes she could follow through on, but seeing as J'onn, Kara, and herself are here on a diplomatic mission to build relations between the D.E.O and the military, she knows that walking out of a soiree held in their honour would be seen as a snub. Instead she grits her teeth and straightens her spine, knowing that she will just have to avoid her for as long as she can, and act as unaffected by her presence as best as she can manage if she comes face to face with her.

The rest of the evening passes in a tense blur for Alex, her senses on high alert so that she isn't caught by surprise when she comes face to face with Lucy, but there seems to be no further sign of her, and Alex starts wondering if she left to avoid running in to her.

'Alex?'

A gentle but firm hand on her arm pulls Alex from her musings, and she looks up to see the worried gaze of her sister staring at her.

'I'm sorry, what?' Alex gives her an apologetic smile but avoids her eyes, vaguely aware that Kara hasn't left her side all night, and feels guilty that she is monopolising "Supergirl" instead of letting her network like she should be.

'Commander Lane here just asked if we wanted a tour of their Meta lab tomorrow'. Kara's voice remains jovial, her role of Supergirl not allowing her to break face and drag her sister to one side to grill her on just what the hell is the matter with her this evening, and indicates the Commander in chief standing next to her instead.

'Oh, my apologies Commander, I was just thinking about ways we could merge our forces to build a more cohesive team for any future conflicts we may come up against'. Alex smiles politely at the man standing next to Kara, desperately trying to pull her thoughts away from the elusive woman somewhere in the crowd for long enough to not screw things up for J'onn. 'A tour of your Meta lab sounds intriguing, just what is it that you do there?'

'No apologies needed, Agent Danvers'. The older man smiles gregariously at her, his hand coming up to rest on her shoulder affectionately. 'I'm reliably informed that you are one of the finest bio-engineers the D.E.O. has to offer, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what that brain of yours thinks of everything our lab has to offer. As for what we do'- he stops and takes a sip from the glass of whiskey in his hand, grinning smugly at her. -'well I believe that we may show you something that gives Supergirl here a run for her money in the wow factor stakes'.

Alex raises her eyebrow in curiosity, the man's boast said so confidently that she starts to wonder what they have been cooking up in their lab that the D.E.O doesn't know about, and feels a tingle of apprehension start in the back of her mind. She pushes it aside, knowing that they will know soon enough, and forces a smile back onto her face. 'Well, I can tell you from personal experience that Supergirl takes quite some beating, so I look forward to seeing what it is you have that you think rivals her'.

Kara smiles affectionately at Alex, the pride she can hear in her voice warming her heart with the knowledge that her older sister is genuinely proud of her accomplishments, and then politely at Commander Lane. 'I look forward to it too Commander, a bit of help never goes amiss, especially when I'm dealing with something that has slime!'

The group all laugh at that, the lull in alien activity recently meaning they can afford to be jovial right now, but they are all aware that the status quo could shift at any moment, and was the reason for the friendly accord between their two operations.

People start to disperse not long after, the early starts the military loved to enforce making everyone wander back to the quarters long before a normal party would, and as soon as she is back in their shared apartment Alex can feel Kara's eyes on her.

Alex tries to avoid the talk by heading into the bathroom, striping off her evening gown as she goes, but by the time she has changed into her standard bedtime attire of black shorts and grey vest Kara has taken up residence on the middle of her bed with a determined look in her eye that tells Alex she is not going to be able to go to sleep without spilling her guts first.

She lets out a sigh of resignation as she crawls onto the bed, picking up one of the pillows to hug to her chest as a makeshift shield, and sinks her chin down into its softness so that she is looking at her knees instead of in Kara's soft blue eyes as she leans back against the headboard. 'Four nights ago I got drunk at Barney's, the bar over on Third right next to the library, and decided to go home with someone'.

'So, you're continuing the weekend habit you started back home'.

Alex looks up at Kara in surprise, seeing the knowledge that she was aware of Alex's nightly activities for sometime in her eyes, and looks back down in shame. 'Well, this was different, because it seems that it wasn't a mutual hookup. I...I don't remember a lot of the night, the amount I consumed has wiped most of it, but it seems that the person I followed home had actually turned me down in the bar'.

'You stalked a stranger to their house?' Kara sounds appalled at Alex, and she hugs the pillow even tighter as she continues.

'I wish that was all I did'. The memory of drunkenly throwing herself at Lucy (after peeling all her clothes off) had come back to her in all its horrific glory, as did the gentle but firm way Lucy had rebuffed her, and she knew that her cheeks were heating in mortified remembrance. 'However, I also forced my way into their apartment, threw my naked body at them; which they against declined, refused to leave, and passed out, forcing them to let me spend the night'.

'Oh, Alex'.

Kara's voice holds no judgement, merely concern, but Alex feels the sting of her own judgement cut her to the core. 'That's not even the worst part'.

'What...what could be worse than that?'

At any other time the surprise in Kara's voice would be amusing, but right now it just adds to the misery Alex is feeling. 'How about waking up and immediately accusing them of taking your clothes off while unconscious?'

The sharp intake of breath lets Alex know that Kara agrees it is worse than just passing out in a strangers place, and she feels the bed shift as the young hero moves to envelop the older girl in a comforting hug. Alex lets herself be cuddled, turning and burying her head in Kara's shoulder to breath in her sister's familiar scent, and closes her eyes as she relieves the moment she wishes with all her heart she could take back. 'I saw them again tonight, just for a moment, and I suddenly didn't know what to do. I really wanted to go over and apologise, to try and explain my actions, but I'm pretty sure there is no apology big enough for what I did'.

Kara huffs lightly into her hair, her lips brushing across Alex's temple lightly as she talks. 'Isn't it the alien that's meant to suck at human interactions?'

Her words force a laugh out of Alex, Kara's unfailing ability to say just the right thing helping to ease her sisters worry, and she hugs her tightly in gratitude. 'Unfortunately being a screw up is what I'm best at, and it seems I'm still winning all the awards for most incompetent Danver sibling'.

'I'm pretty sure I'm still the reigning champ for missing mom's birthday last year when I blew out my powers over Guatamala and was forced to ride in the back of a cattle truck for two days before I found a phone'. Kara hugs her sister as tightly as she dare, knowing that Alex only gave in like this when she was feeling particularly down, and wished she knew exactly who at the party had affected her so much. She knows Alex has been struggling with something, her one night stands so out of character that she had actually followed her on several occasions to make sure she was safe, but had hoped that she would confide in her when she was ready.

Alex lets out a half chuckle half sniffle sob as she remembers how pissed their mom had been when Kara had turned up three days late, smelling like a bog, and with only a handful of flowers as an apology. 'She wasn't pissed with you though, that was the problem. She gave J'onn such an earful when he came to collect us that night that I thought he was going to fly back to Mars just for some peace and quiet'.

Alex had gotten over her mothers preference of the younger girl to herself a long time ago, knowing that she would pick Kara over anyone in this world too, and had since turned it into a game. 'She made him promise to GPS your suit in future so that he would never not know where you were again'.

Kara pulls back with a horrified look on her face, clearly worried that the entirety of the D.E.O now knew that she spent her nights hovering outside Cat Grants apartment block, and Alex feels a genuine smile pull her at her lips at the look. 'Don't worry, _Supergirl_ , I make sure to deactivate it when you're not on official D.E.O business'.

Alex had known about Kara's crush on her boss for some time, her constant hero worship of the woman so over the top that she didn't know how Kara could stand it sometimes, but was content to let the super-powered woman live in her delusion of platonic feelings while she dealt with her own sapphic leanings.

This secondment to the bio-weapon and defence branch of the military was meant to be a distraction for them both; some time away from Cat's constant demands (under the guise of a long awaited family holiday) for the younger girl, and a chance for Alex to flex her science side for a change. Alex had jumped at the opportunity, always eager to find new ways to help protect Kara in her daily fight against the worst the universe could throw at her, and keen to explore what advances could be made in the endlessly fascinating world of technology.

Kara gives Alex a grateful smile, knowing that her big sister is looking out for her even when she isn't aware of it, and cups Alex's cheek gently. 'Anyone stupid enough to turn you down is clearly not worthy of you, so I suggest that if you do ever see them again you keep your head held high and your confidence up, because it is their loss not yours'.

Alex feels her heart warm at Kara's words, grateful that she gets to call this amazing woman her sister, and leans forward so she can press a kiss to her forehead. 'I'm not so sure that's true, but thank you for saying it anyway'.

Kara releases Alex as she feels the girl start to wiggle down in the bed, moving to stand from the bed, but is stopped by Alex's hand on her arm. She looks down at Alex questioningly, thinking that maybe she had read the signs wrong and she wasn't wanting to go to sleep now, but sees the tiredness in her eyes.

'Stay?'

The question is tentative as Alex knows that Kara is always hesitant to share a bed with anyone due to her fears that she will injure them in her sleep, but Kara can also see that Alex really doesn't want to be alone tonight, so simply nods and climbs under the covers without complaint. Alex heaves a sigh of relief, glad Kara didn't make her ask again, but resists curling up against her frame like she wants too.

She goes to bed that night less fearful of her dreams, though still drifts off thinking of nothing but the angry brunette with the beautiful face.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

'Welcome to Meta Labs'.

Dr. West extends her hand to shake and asks them all to call her Iris, her friendly smile and easy demeanour making Kara like her right away, but the funk Alex has fallen in to keeps her from responding immediately.

She remains pleasant however, and looks around the lab with genuine interest, becoming engrossed in the advanced tech they've designed to aid soldiers in their missions against alien forces. The weaponry is impressive, with most built to incapacitate rather than kill, and the armour built specifically to respond to each individual soldier, almost like a second skin.

'This tech is amazing, seriously, and I'm going to be asking for a full diagnostic of it in about thirty seconds'- Alex runs her hand over one of the Ion blasters. -'but its way more advanced than anything we've seen at the D.E.O. despite studying alien biology for years so I have to ask, where did you get this from?'

'From me'.

There is a loud fluttering and a gust of wind sweeps across the group as a shadow flickers above them, the motion making them all look up as one, and Alex feels a lead weight drop into her stomach at the sight.

Not only is there a person with wings; freaking HUGE, white, angelesque shaped, _wings_ , descending from above them; but that person is also the woman the Alex has been trying to forget ever since Sunday morning.

Lucy lands a few paces from them, her feet touching down gently as her wings give one final stretch, seeming to reach from one end of the room to the other, before folding in on themselves and tucking neatly behind her. From this angle Alex can't see them at all and Lucy looks like a regular person, which is no doubt why she hadn't noticed then in their previous encounter, but she remains staring at Lucy completely dumbfounded.

'Hey, I'm Lucy. I'm the resident Meta geek, and some time guinea pig, around here'.

'That was awesome!' Kara steps forward first, her hand extended and a friendly smile on her face, to greet the newcomer, already picturing them up in the sky racing. 'Your wings are amazing, and I can't tell you how much I look forward to seeing you in action out in the open'.

'Well, I have to say, its an honour to meet you, Supergirl'. Lucy laughs easily and shakes her hand back, feeling the repressed strength in the grip as she gives her a smile. 'There's not a lot of beings here with the ability to fly, so I look forward to having a few races with you amongst the clouds'.

'You're on'. Kara finds herself liking the girl immediately and hopes to spend some time getting to know her, but frowns when she realises she can hear Alex's heart pounding.

She steps back from Lucy and glances behind her, finding her sister staring at the pair of them seemingly impassively, but her sensitive hearing picks up the frantic thump of her pulse as her heart thunders away inside her chest. Kara looks at Alex in confusion, finding the reaction out of place for the normally unflappable woman, although it sounds amazingly similar to the one she had last night when she said she saw the person from her one night sta...'Oh'.

Kara looks between Alex and Lucy, sensing the tension radiating beneath the surface, and it finally clicks as to what Alex has been struggling with. She feels bad instantly, knowing she should have spotted it sooner, and resolves to speak to her about it as soon as possible.

Lucy, to give her credit, doesn't falter in her sunny disposition as she steps forward to extend her hand to J'onn, then turns and holds her palm out to Alex. 'Hi, I'm Lucy, it's a pleasure to meet you Agent Danvers'.

'Call me Alex'.

Alex, no stranger at having to keeping her cool under extreme situations, offers Lucy a professional smile and takes her hand. 'Thank you for letting us come take a look around, you certainly have an impressive set up here'.

The two women shake hands slowly as they size each other up, the shock they both felt at seeing the other now dissipating into professional curiosity, and they feel a frisson of something race up their spines at seeing the other again.

For Alex the feeling is shame mixed with embarrassment, her lapse of control now thrust once again into her face, and she has to bite the inside of her cheek as she feels the urge to blurt out an apology for her behaviour, but the biologist in her is also piqued about what species she is. Her wings are truly magnificent, and the power they must require to lift a human body with the kind of effortlessness she displayed has to be immense (humans don't have hollow bones like birds do after all), which makes Alex wish that she could study her physiology like she had Kara's, but knows that it would be far too awkward now.

For Lucy, seeing Alex again gives her mixed feelings. The woman accused her of taking her clothes off while unconscious, which isn't something you just forget about, and she'd felt a streak of annoyance at the gall she must have to just stroll into _her_ lab; but after overhearing some of the conversation (another perk of her condition), she'd quickly realised that she was the infamous Agent Danvers Commander Lane has been raving about. Lucy has been looking forward to meeting Agent Danvers; a highly commended member of the secretive Department of Extra-Normal Operations, for some time. Part agent, part soldier, part scientist, and all genius, at least according to most around here, the woman was a legend that every single member of the team were queuing up to meet, and against her better judgement Lucy still feels excited to meet her.

'Any friend of Commander Lane's is a friend of ours. After all, we all share the same goal of trying to protect the world from threats, both Meta and Extra'. Lucy realises she still holding Alex's hand and quickly releases it, then turns to look at the tech Alex had just been admiring to cover the fact that she actually felt disappointment when she let go.

'Seeing as we're on the subject, what exactly is a Meta?' Kara speaks up to try and ease the strange tension between the two women, as even J'onn can tell something is amiss, and places herself next to Lucy in order to block Alex's view of her. 'An Extra is clearly and extraterrestrial, and we've dealt with plenty of those, but I don't believe we've ever come across a Meta threat before'.

Lucy looks up at the Kryptonian, grateful for the distraction, and gives her a wry grin. 'That's because we don't seem to exist in this universe'.

That gets everyone's attention, and Dr. West laughs at the looks of confusion on their faces. 'You'll have to excuse Lucy, she likes to be overly dramatic'.

She walks over to Lucy's other side and presses a few buttons on the panel, which makes the large screen to their right click on, and then taps a few more times before a picture of the Earth appears.

'This is us, our Earth'. Dr. West indicates the picture on the screen, then hits a few buttons to make an almost identical Earth appear next to it. 'And this is where Lucy is from, Earth Two'.

'In my world this was Earth Two, but whatever'. Lucy grumbles light-heartedly, rolling her eyes at Dr. West.

Dr. West rolls her eyes back at her, the two well used to sparing with each other. 'Normally the worlds are entirely separate, and there is no way to for one person to cross between them, but...'

'...but if that person is moving fast enough, and at the right frequency, they can jump from one universe to the next'. Kara finishes Dr. West's sentence, her eyes going wide as she stares at Lucy. 'You're a Metahuman, like Barry'.

Dr. West and Lucy glance at each other before looking back at Kara with surprise on their faces, never having encountered anyone that knew the term before, and find themselves asking the same question at the same time. 'Who's Barry?'

'Barry Allan'. Kara is just as surprised, having never expected to encounter another Metahuman in this world, and finds herself getting excited about the possibilities of meeting more. 'You must know him, he's The Flash on your world!'

'Barry Allen is really The Flash?' Lucy stares at Kara in shock, the news that the scrawny guy she had met during her ill fated trip to Central City is the superfast superhero she had read about while trying to get a handle on her own powers a fact she wasn't expecting, then frowns in confusion. 'Hold on, how do you know about Meta's, and more importantly, how do you know about The Flash?'

Kara looks at the expectant faces of Lucy and Dr. West and gives them a confused grin. 'Barry came to this Earth a while ago by accident, I thought you knew'.

'I remember a speedster being reported by Catco Media but he was called The Blur, and he disappeared almost as soon as he appeared, way before we could pin down when he was and retrieve him'. Lucy frowns at the thought that someone from her world has been here, in this world with her, and she hadn't had a clue.

Alex catches the look of disappointment on Lucy's face, having moved to a position where she could watch the woman interact with her sister, and wonders at it because, despite being too mortified to ever attempt a one on one conversation with her again, she remains fascinated by the winged woman.

'He needed to get back as he had a lot going on with someone called Zoom, but while he was here he helped me capture Livewire and Silver Banshee'.

Kara looks at J'onn, feeling guilty that she forgot to tell him about Barry, but Alex places her hand on her arm reassuringly. 'I filled him in, don't worry'.

Kara places her hand over the one on her arm and squeezes it gently, grateful that Alex always has her back, then turns back to Lucy. 'I know he only got here with the help of something called a Tachyon Device, is that how you got here?'

Lucy has to drag her eyes away from the hand on Supergirl's arm to look back at her face, the sight of the women's casual affection sparking something akin to jealously inside of her, and she has to battle the emotion from showing on her face. She flicks her gaze up to Alex for a moment, her curiosity at how this woman could be so confidently affectionate with Supergirl when just days ago she was throwing herself at her, on fire, and wishes that one of her acquired powers was the ability to read minds.

Lucy had turned Alex down, twice, it was true; but it hadn't been because she didn't find the woman attractive. In fact the reverse was true. Lucy had found Alex incredibly attractive, and only turned her down at the bar because she was far too drunk to make an informed consent.

From the start Alex had been charming, self deprecating, very complementary, and downright adorable. Lucy had found herself swooning in a way she hadn't in a long time, and very eager to continue getting to know her, yet thought her chances had been dashed when she'd to say no to Alex's attempt to kiss her.

She'd tried to explain why, knowing that no girl liked to be rebuffed when they had been brave enough to make the first move, but Alex had high-tailed it out of the bar before she'd even had the chance to start. Lucy had thought she'd got her second chance when she'd answered her doorbell to find the inebriated girl swaying like a sailor in front of her, and Alex hadn't had to force her way into Lucy's apartment at all. Lucy had invited Alex in happily, glad that she'd had a second chance, and Alex herself had seemed eager to apologise for running out without an explanation.

Lucy had then retreated to the kitchen area to make them drinks, the non alcoholic-trying to sober a person up–kind, but when she'd turned around it was to find that Alex had somehow stripped out of most of her clothes, and was stood (still swaying) in just her bra and panties. The sight had been enough to short circuit the winged woman's thought process; the leanly muscled torso and sculpted abs that Alex was displaying had made her mouth water with the urge to run her tongue over them, her finely toned thighs had begged to have Lucy's head between them, and the delectable handfuls straining at the cups of her bra made Lucy wish on more than one deity that she was free to indulge her desires.

Lucy's transfixed state had boosted Alex's confidence and she had peeled off the remaining garments before Lucy had been able to break free of the spell Alex's body had put her in, and in the blink of an eye Lucy had a completely naked Alex standing directly in front of her. The touch of Alex's hand on her arm had jolted Lucy out of her fog, and she had let out a little whimper of frustration as she'd registered the sight of Alex's bare breasts so close to hand. Lucy had wanted Alex, very badly, and had been extremely tempted to give in, just for one kiss, but as she had watched Alex close her eyes and start to lean in however, she'd known that one kiss wouldn't be enough, and had forced herself to step away.

Alex had not been pleased by the move, the already wobbly girl almost falling on her face as a result, and had become defensive at what she'd perceived to be a second snub. The intoxicated woman had started berating Lucy for leading her on; making her think she was interested in being with her only to turn around and shoot her down at the last moment, and had become tearful at the thought that this was all some big joke on Lucy's part just to play with her feelings.

The change in Alex from confident and flirty to paranoid and defensive had been done at breakneck speed, leaving Lucy's head spinning in confusion, and she had suggested that maybe it was wise for them to end the conversation, for now, and reconvene in the morning. This had seemed to mollify Alex somewhat, the knowledge that Lucy was still wanting to get to know her easing some of her fears of rejection, and she had nodded in agreement. Lucy had then gone to retrieve her cell from her bedroom so that she could ring for a cab to take Alex home, but by the time she had returned she'd found that Alex had slipped into unconsciousness on the armchair.

Lucy had been tempted to let Alex sleep where she was, the idea of laying her hands on the unaware girl in order to move her feeling a lot like a violation of trust, but knew from experience that the chair Alex had chosen to pass out in was hell to sleep in. Instead she'd picked up the blanket from the back of the chair and covered Alex with it, not wanting the girl to remain bare to her eyes, and then spent the next forty minutes pacing her apartment as she deliberated about what to do.

In the end Alex decided for the pair of them, as just when Lucy had resolved to leave Alex where she was, deciding that a bit of backache was the penance you paid for passing out in someone's apartment, the girl in question had let out a groan of discomfort and tried shifting in the chair to find a more comfortable position. The chairs design made that impossible however, and the grimace on Alex's face was too much for Lucy to cope with.

She'd stood up swiftly and stalked into the bedroom, pulled back the duvet in preparation for receiving Alex's unconscious form, and then drew the blinds so that the sun wouldn't stream in come morning time. With that done Lucy had returned to the living room and, without hesitating least she lose her nerve, scooped Alex up in her arms (ensuring that the blanket remained covering her modesty), and returned to the bedroom.

Lucy had placed Alex in the centre of the bed, figuring that she wouldn't then accidentally roll out of the bed thinking she was on her side of the bed (whatever that side may be) and clunk herself on the floor. She'd dithered over whether to try putting some pyjama's on Alex, figuring it would be less awkward for the girl in the morning if she woke up wearing something more than just her birthday suit, but a deep moan that Alex emitted as she snuggled against Lucy's pillow had her quickly deciding against it. She'd hurriedly placed the duvet over Alex's body, removed the blanket, made sure the duvet wasn't covering too much of Alex's face, then returned to the living room to retrieve her clothes. Lucy had felt like a pervert handling Alex's underwear, the feeling of invading her privacy one that didn't sit well with her despite knowing that Alex had been the one to invade _her_ privacy, and she'd made sure to deposit the clothes by the side of the bed (tucked out of potential vomit range) as quickly as she could.

One done Lucy had retreated to the living room, and spent the rest of the night alternatively pacing and going for short flights to try and burn off some sexual frustration. The morning had seemed to take an age to come, and even the stunning sunrise she'd witnessed from her balcony had not been enough to take Lucy's mind off the naked woman in her bed, so when she'd picked up the sounds of movement in her room she'd had to force herself to wait another couple of minutes to ensure Alex was sufficiently awake enough to be coherent, before heading in to greet her.

Lucy had intended to treat Alex to breakfast, seeing as she didn't have enough in her apartment to feed a sparrow (self deprecation was an art form with Lucy), but things had quickly deteriorated and Lucy had ended up storming out of her apartment instead.

'I'm sorry, was that too personal a question?'

Lucy blinks as she realises that she is just staring at Supergirl, not answering the simple question she had been asked, and smiles apologetically. 'Sorry, I spaced out there for a second'.

'That's okay, you just looked lost in thought and I was worried I'd stepped over the line by asking about how you got here'. Kara smiles kindly at her.

Lucy flicks a glance at Alex and sees that she is looking at her curiously, then pulls her gaze away again to focus on Supergirl. 'Er, it is kinda personal, and I'd prefer not to share until I've known you all for a bit longer, if you don't mind'.

Lucy tries to fight the shame that always rises in her when she thinks about her reason for ending up here, not wanting to give anything away in front of Alex, and quickly moves on. 'I can say that I've never heard of this Tachyon Device though, and I'd be very interested to work with you to find out more about it'.

'If you want to know how it works you should talk to Alex'. Kara beams at Lucy as she gets the chance to boast about her sisters brilliant mind to the woman Alex clearly likes 'Before Barry left, she got a chance to study it, seeing as she is our resident expert in all things techy, and is currently working on a way to reverse engineer it'.

The pride on Kara's face at Alex's achievements is unmistakeable and Lucy feels a tight knot in the pit of her stomach at the thought that the pair might actually be together, because it would make being around both of them really awkward; but it would also go some way to explain why Alex was so hostile when she woke up. If they'd had a row and Alex had hit on her as a drunken mistake then waking up in a strangers apartment completely naked would have been a hell of a guilt trip for her to deal with, and the easiest way to justify it to herself would of course been to think Lucy had made her do something she didn't want to.

Lucy swallows as she looks at Alex, seeing her flush with embarrassment at Supergirl's praise, and knows that they definitely have more than a working relationship going on. If they really are a couple then Lucy needs to stay as far away from Alex as possible, which is going to be difficult given that Supergirl has just said that the only way for her to learn anything about a possible way home will be to spend time with the very girl she needs to avoid, and she feels stuck between two very difficult choices.

'I, er...I'd be interested to see any notes you have on it, certainly'. Lucy looks at Alex and gives her a professional smile, ensuring she doesn't make eye contact, then hastily moves on. 'But for now why doesn't Dr. West show you around the rest of the lab'.

Lucy quickly hands off responsibility to Iris, who is happy to play tour guide, and excuses herself by saying that she needs to check up on one of the assistants.

Alex scowls as she watches Lucy hurry away, knowing that the only reason she hasn't stayed and helped show them around is because of her, and silently berates herself yet again for not keeping her emotions under better control.

Seeing Lucy again so unexpectedly, and with the added surprise of her being a Metahuman, had derailed Alex's hard fought for calm, and she knows that she is going to have a difficult time not obsessing over the woman in the remaining time they have here, but also knows that after the things she accused her of, Lucy will not be eager to spend any time with her at all.

A sharp jab in the ribs brings Alex's attention back to the group and she looks up to see Kara making not so subtle "pay attention" gestures at her, and quickly realises that Dr. West is talking to her.

'…..really would be good if you and Lucy could collaborate together about the Tachyon Device as its the first real piece of information we've had about a way to connect with her home since she got her'.

'Sure, it would be my pleasure to help in any way that I can'. Alex feels her stomach churn at the thought of having to work with Lucy in any way, sure that the woman must despise her, but keeps her face impassive as she nods at Dr. West. 'She must be eager to return home. How long has she been here?'

Dr. West pauses as she considers the question, no doubt assessing how much Lucy would be comfortable with them knowing, then gestures for the group to follow her as she leads them into a large chamber at the end of the corridor. 'I first met Lucy three years ago when Commander Lane brought her to this facility, primarily so that we could study her physiology'.

Iris taps a few buttons on the control panel and a holographic image of Lucy appears in the middle of the room, the 3D representation suspended as if frozen in mid air, and Alex can't help but let out a low gasp at the sight. The image is an obvious scan of the woman, done with some sort of projector no doubt, but in it Lucy is wearing nothing more than a sports bra and a pair of tiny jogging shorts.

Alex catches Kara turn to look at her out of the corner of her eye, knowing that she was the only one that would have heard the gasp (J'onn had left to meet with Commander Lane shortly after Lucy left), but ignores her in favour of keeping her focus on the image. The resolution is amazing, the scan so clear that it is almost as if the woman is actually in the room with them, but a subtle flickering at the edges give away its true nature.

The image is life size, roughly 3 inches shorter than her own height of 5ft 6, which would place Lucy around 5' 3, but her wings when unfolded make her look much taller. Alex stares at the image, entranced as it is the first time she has been able to really look at the woman since she woke up in her bed, and realises that the reason for her lapse in control on Saturday night was because Lucy is absolutely, flawlessly, _gorgeous_.

The image is actually a short video, a clip of around ten seconds, which starts with Lucy standing with her wings folded and then progresses to her stretching her wings to full length. The camera spins around the circumference of Lucy's frame as she does, so that the viewer gets an all around pan of her body, and Alex finds her mouth going dry as she takes in the spectacle that is all of Lucy.

Lucy is relaxed in the video, clearly comfortable with whoever is doing the filming (Alex suspects it is Dr. West as she had noticed a closeness between the two women while they were talking), and has a small smile on her face as she converses with the unseen camera person. Her hands are resting on her hips, fingers splayed across the V cut defining where her torso meets her pelvis, and her abdominal muscles are as well defined as any athlete Alex has ever seen. The muscles in Lucy's arms are well proportioned, a result of countless hours in the gym she mentioned needing to go to no doubt, and her legs have the look of a professional runner.

Alex is speechless, finding herself more than a little turned on, and is once again mortified that she made such an idiot of herself with this woman.

'Why did the Commander bring her here?'

Kara is the one to ask the question and Alex turns to look at Dr. West in anticipation of her answer, glad to have the distraction.

'Lucy is like nothing we've ever seen before'. Dr. West pauses the hologram so that Lucy is facing away from them, and that Alex and Kara can see her wings clearly. 'She was born human, but a physiological event changed her genetic make up and melded it with that of an eagle, which forced her body to grow the wings you see here'.

The image shows that Lucy's wings sprout from her trapezius muscles, the thick ropes of muscle enlarged to balance the extra force being applied to them, and stretching further down her back than normal.

'I thought eagles had brown feathers, so why are Lucy's white?'

Dr. West nods at Kara and clicks on the keyboard some more, until a hologram of a white eagle appears next to the one of Lucy. 'They normally are brown, but Lucy was in the vicinity of a rare albino eagle, like this one, when the event happened, and its genetic markers for white feathers were passed to her'.

'They're beautiful'.

Alex goes still as she realises she just said that out loud, and hastily tries to cover up her slip. 'I..., I mean from a biological standpoint, they're amazing. You, you said her body grew these?'

Dr. West nods again, this time at Alex, and looks pensive. 'Lucy has always been...reluctant, to reveal too much about what she experienced in the time just after the event, but from what she has said, I understand the process to have been...painful'.

Alex's heart squeezes at the thought and she has the strange urge to find Lucy so that she can give her a sympathetic hug, but then scoffs internally at the idea, knowing that if she attempted something so foolhardy she would most likely receive a fist to the face for it, and tries to squash down her emotions so that only her scientific side is active. 'You've mentioned this "event" a couple of times now Dr. West, but it would help us a lot if we knew exactly what this event was'.

'Of course'. Dr. West turns back to the keyboard and resumes tapping. The image of the eagle disappears, followed by the image of Lucy, and Alex feels a pang of sadness at the loss, knowing that she probably wouldn't ever have another chance to look at the woman so openly.

After a few more taps the image of a large building appears in the spot where the hologram of Lucy was, and Dr. West turns back. 'Do either of you recognise this?'

Both Kara and Alex study the image of the circular building thoroughly, then shake their heads when they come up empty.

'No, I didn't think you would'. Dr. West smiles knowingly. 'The Government had it torn down before it ever officially opened'.

'Why?' Alex glances at Dr. West before looking back at the unfamiliar building. 'Did it have something to do with Lucy's transformation?'

'Not on this Earth, no'. Dr. West taps a few more buttons, and the image changes to the pile of rubble the Government had left the building in. 'The building was meant to become S.T.A.R Labs, the Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories, designed and built by a scientist by the name of Harrison Wells'.

The image on screen changes again to show the face of Dr. Wells, a thin faced man in his early fifties, as Dr. West continues. 'Dr. Wells designed a new type of particle accelerator, one that was meant to be able to power the whole of Central City with clean energy, but just before it opened Lucy contacted the Commander and informed him of a potentially catastrophic event that could take place should it be allowed to be switched on'.

'So Commander Lane destroyed an entire building based on the say so of a complete stranger? Even taking into account Lucy's special nature, that's a lot to take on faith, isn't it?' Alex frowns as she tries to image someone coming to her with such a story, and what she would be willing to accept at face value.

Dr. West looks conflicted for a moment, which tells Alex that there is a lot more to the story that she isn't telling, before speaking. 'The relationship between the Commander and Lucy is...complicated, and one only Lucy is at liberty to disclose, but suffice to say that the Commander believed her immediately'.

A few more taps and the image of S.T.A.R Labs is back, but this time with a strange haze around it.

'The event that Lucy warned the Commander about was an explosion, a massive scale event like we'd never seen before, which would send a shockwave careening throughout Central City'. Dr. West sounds more animated now, clearly on the subject that excites her most, and Alex feels a burst of geek solidarity for her enthusiasm. 'Lucy explained that on her Earth, Metahumans are individuals that, after being exposed to the particles and Dark Matter that the shockwave contained, had their genetic, and sometimes even their atomic, structure altered. From our research it appears that the type of power a person developed depended on the situation they were in, and the elements around them, at the time of the shockwave'.

Yet more taps, and the building disappears as a row of individuals take its place.

'Lucy was caught up in this shockwave and, along with volunteering herself as a specimen, she was able to furnish us with details about some of the powers people had developed; not all of them as benign as hers'.

The individuals shown on the holograms are about the height of a ruler, the sheer quantity of them meaning they couldn't be shown life-size, but they are still large enough to be able to see the various powers they are displaying.

The variety is amazing, with one man controlling what appears to be a tornado while another is covered in flames. A silver haired lady seems to be able to send jets of ice straight into the air, and a brunette looks to have a swarm of bees under her control. There is also a half man half shark, a giant gorilla, and a woman that can teleport from one spot to another.

Kara bends down and studies the projections, her face alight with interest at the different powers on display, and Alex knows that Kara would love to be able to talk to Barry all about them. The boy had made quite the impression on Kara during his brief stay, his outlook on his abilities (not to mention his gargantuan appetite) so similar to Kara's that the pair could be related, and Alex had enjoyed watched the pair geek out during their time together.

'The Commander ordered S.T.A.R Labs destroyed as a priority, which was a hell of a lot of bad press for us given how much money it was going to save Central City, but was green lit by the President herself the moment she met Lucy'.

'She sure does seem to have an effect on people'. Alex mutters under her breath, still out of sorts from seeing the other woman again, then speaks up when Kara gives her the side eye. 'What did you mean when you said Lucy offered herself up as a specimen?'

'I met Lucy the day she contacted Commander Lane about S.T.A.R Labs'. Dr. West closes down the hologram, much to Kara's disappointment, and then turns to face Alex. 'He brought her straight to my lab, which was over in Star City at the time, to run some tests, and Lucy stayed there for about a week while we tried to determine the cause of her transformation. By that time Commander Lane had secured the funds to set up this lab, named the Meta Lab in honour of Lucy's information, and she transferred here the day after'.

Alex thinks back to Lucy's comment when they first saw her and realises she wasn't just jesting. 'Is Lucy a member of this team, or is she still a specimen confined to this facility?'

Dr. West looks guilty for a moment, thought hides it quickly beneath a professional blank face, and gives Alex a tight smile. 'Lucy isn't a prisoner here, if that's that you're thinking'.

'What I'm thinking is too full of expletives to repeat right now, Doctor, but I noticed that you didn't answer my question. _Is Lucy free to leave this facility whenever she wants_?'

'The Commander has stated that...'

'Yes or no, Doc?' Alex cuts her off, not interested in hearing any carefully worded excuse, and raises her eyebrow at her expectantly.

Dr. West glances at Kara, who is also looking at her with rather less friendliness than a few minutes before, and lets out a sigh as she sags back so that she is sitting on the edge of the table. 'The truth is no, she isn't'.

The muscle in Alex's jaw flexes tightly as she grits her teeth in anger, her blood boiling as she thinks back to Commander Lane's smirk as he'd boasted about having something to rival Supergirl, and knows now that he must have been talking about Lucy. The way he'd said it had sounded so impersonal, as if he had been a kid bragging about a new car, and knows that he clearly sees Lucy as a commodity rather than a person.

Before she can storm out however, Dr. West holds up her hand and continues talking. 'Before you go rampaging out of here and start knocking heads about, Agent Danvers, I have to tell you that it is also Lucy's choice to remain here'.

'What?'

Alex looks at Kara in confusion and sees that she is also frowning, the hero clearly not understanding why someone would voluntarily choose to remain here either, and then back at the doctor. 'Why would anyone choose to stay here when they could go anywhere they wanted?'

Dr. West stands up and looks Alex in the eye, once more calm and confident. 'Only Lucy can give you her reasons for that, but you must remember that although this may look a lot like her Earth in many ways, this _isn't_ Lucy's world. There are no Meta's here, no one that has gone through what Lucy has, and no one that can understand what it is like to be on a world not their own. Think on that for a little while Agent. Danvers, before you start with any accusations'.

 **I have no idea if this is actually any good so...hit me up huh. Leave me a message, even if its just a "continue" or "it's not the worst thing I've ever read" to let me know whether I should stick with it or flush my head in the toilet a few times.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

'You're a hard woman to track down'.

Alex spins around at the sound of the voice, her eyes widening as she takes in the sight of Lucy standing in the doorway to the room she had been granted use of for the duration of her stay, and has to remind herself to respond.

'I've er, I've been a little busy'.

'You certainly have'. Lucy advances into the room and allows the door to close behind her, the solid thump as it meets the frame reverberating in Alex's chest, and she feels dread pulse through her veins at being alone with the woman for the first time since _that_ morning.

'It seems you've spent time with just about every single scientist in this facility, except me, in the past two days'. Lucy saunters across the space dividing them, her gait unhurried and relaxed, and Alex finds it hard to keep her eyes off the sway of the smaller woman's hips. Lucy draws level with Alex and pauses, her eyes sweeping across the Agent's face to try and get a read on her mood, but finds her expression indecipherable. 'A girl could get a complex'.

Alex has to bite down hard on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from blurting out some lame excuse for her behaviour, knowing that there is **no** excuse for how she acted, and instead takes a moment to compose her response. She studies Lucy in that time, trying to work out just how she can be so relaxed around someone that acted so awfully towards her, and decides that maybe Lucy was just never into her in the first place.

Maybe the reason Lucy is acting so unaffected is because she has already put the incident in the past, the drunk closet case freaking out after an almost one night stand not rating high on her list of things she wants to remember, and has just decided that professionalism is the way to go.

'I'm sorry if it appears that way, it certainly wasn't my intention'. The lie trips off Alex's lips with only a hint of guilt, and she offers the other woman a tight smile. 'But I'm glad we have this moment now'.

Alex swallows her nerves, knowing that she needs to do this if she has any hope of getting through the next few days, and digs the nails of her right hand into her palm to give herself something to focus on.

'I owe you an apology for the way I acted on Sunday morning'. Alex holds her hand up when Lucy goes to speak, knowing that she will bottle it if she gets interrupted, and continues on. 'I was rude, argumentative, embarrassed, out of my depth, and completely wrong. There is no excuse for it, and I fully understand if you don't forgive me for what I said, but I just wanted you to know that _I_ know I was totally out of line; and I'm sorry'.

Lucy is taken by surprise by Alex's apology, not expecting it as she had fully expected the woman to completely ignore what had happened between them, so is pleasantly by Alex's frank acknowledgement of her part in it. She tilts her head slightly as she studies Alex, seeing her in a new light, and decides that maybe the next few days might not be as awful as she had imagined. She had decided that the best way to get through the time was to just make snarky comments and tease Alex the whole time, but now she wonders if maybe they can start over.

Alex had dropped her eyes at the end of her apology, unable to keep them locked with the iridescent green of those opposite hers, so jumps slightly when she feels a hand on her arm. She looks up to find Lucy smiling softly at her, the gorgeous face now transformed into stunning, and Alex once again has to clamp down on the urge to do something impulsive.

'I really wasn't expecting you to acknowledge what happened the other morning, and had thought you'd probably deny it if I mentioned it, so thank you for that'. Lucy smiles warmly at Alex, feeling much better now that the air has been cleared, and finds herself looking forward to working with her once again.

Alex lets out a deep breath, the weight that has been pressing down on her since that morning easing at Lucy's words, and finds herself smiling back. 'I didn't want to be beating around the bush the entire time I was here, and I believe that actions speak louder than words, so decided to address the elephant in the room by putting on my big girl pants and taking the bull by the horns'.

'That's a lot of idioms in one sentence'. Lucy laughs as she removes her hand from Alex's arm, aware that it had been there for longer than it should, and places it on the table next to her to lean on.

Alex laughs too and dips her head to allow her hair to fall in front of he face a bit as she blushes slightly. 'Idioms from an idiot, it makes sense'.

'You're not an idiot'. Lucy says the words softly, though with a hint of steel in them. 'You reacted badly to a situation and made a bit of a mess, but you pulled your socks up and sorted it out'.

'Who's spouting idioms now?' Alex teases Lucy, relaxing slightly now that things are out on the open, though reminds herself to keep a tight control over her emotions from now on.

Lucy smiles at Alex's ribbing, enjoying the warmth of her tone as it flows over her, and gives her a playful wink. 'I guess you're rubbing off on me'.

Alex's smile falters at the sight of Lucy's wink, the way it makes her heart flutter in her chest reminding her that flirting with a girl, especially one she's already shown an attraction to, is an exceptionally bad idea. She sobers instead, her face becoming the mask she normally wears so well, and turns back to what she was doing before Lucy entered the room. 'I er..., I was probably going to find you in a day or two anyway. Dr. West mentioned that the Tachyon device was the first real lead you've had about finding a way home since you got here, but I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed before I got your hopes up'.

Lucy frowns at Alex's sudden shift from light hearted banter to professional work mode and wonders at the cause, but gets side tracked by her words. 'What do you mean, get my hopes up?'

Alex is tapping away at the computer as she gazes at the screen, her fingers flying over the keyboard in lightening fast time thanks to the touch-typing skills she picked up at the D.E.O, and brings up an image of the device in question. 'This is the Tachyon device Barry was wearing when he jumped dimensions, which he took from a not so nice guy on his world known as the Reverse Flash, and used to help him increase his speed'.

Alex taps a command on the keyboard and the image on screen shifts, the Tachyon device splitting into it individual components so that each piece of the device is seen separately, and then continues. 'With Barry's permission I scanned the device into our system and did a full chemical breakdown on every single piece that went in to it, making sure that, in theory at least, I could replicate every single piece exactly, if I needed to'.

She taps another command and the device slots back together, the glow from the centre once again bright and steady. 'I spent the last two days talking to your colleagues to make sure I had all the components I needed to build one, which was no easy task given the amount of red tape this place likes to wrap around every request, but I found out about an hour ago that the last piece I need to create a fully operational, and hopefully fully functioning, Tachyon device, has been found'.

Lucy stares at the screen, trying to process the fact that, despite thinking she hated her, Alex has spent the last few days tracking down everything needed to create a device to help her get back to her own world. She turns to look at Alex, her feelings swirling inside her at the thought that she might actually be able to return to her own Earth, and finds herself being incredibly touched by the thoughtfulness of such a gesture. She takes a step towards Alex, finding the urge to kiss the short haired woman almost over powering, but stops abruptly as the door to the room suddenly opens.

'Oh Lucy, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting to find you here'. The perkiness of Supergirl' tone belies the shock Kara feels at finding the two women in the same room, knowing that Alex has gone out of her way to avoid the winged woman since their "introduction" the other day, and gives Alex a look to see how she is fairing.

Her heartbeat is slightly elevated, though nowhere near the frantic pace of previous encounters, and she seems more relaxed too. There is no sign of the rigid shoulders and clenched jaw from before, though there is still a weird tension running between them, and Kara frowns at not being able to tell what is going on. 'I just popped in to speak to Alex, but if you two are in the middle of something...'

Kara looks at Alex and raises her eyebrows in question, dying to know what has changed the dynamic between them but unable to vocalise it in her current guise, and hopes for a signal from Alex that she can read.

'Not at all'. Lucy can feel the unasked question between the two, knowing that the superhero is really checking to make sure Alex is okay, and finds herself resenting the Kryptonian slightly for it. 'Agent Danvers here was just showing me how brilliant that brain of hers really is, but if you two need a minute...'

'I do, thanks'. Kara gives Lucy a nod of thanks and then turns to her sister. 'Alex, can I speak to you outside for second?'

'I won't be long'. Alex smiles apologetically at Lucy as she walks past. 'Feel free to check over the Tachyon if you like, make sure I haven't left anything out'.

Lucy returns Alex's smile as her eyes follow her out, her curiosity about what Supergirl wants with Alex running rampant, and she silently curses when the door closes as the thick metal makes it pretty much impossible for her to hear what is being said on the other side.

'So?' As soon as the door clicks into place Kara waves her hands in front of her excitedly, gesturing for Alex to talk.

Alex rises her eyebrow at Kara, clearly confused by Kara's reaction. 'Soooooo, what? You came looking for me remember, shouldn't I be the one asking for an explanation?'

'So what's going on between you and Lucy?' Kara hisses the words as she practically jumps up and down, finding it hard to keep her excitement about a possible breakthrough with her sister's love life under control. 'Last time we spoke it took me most of the night before you would admit to liking girls, let alone that Lucy was the one from your disastrous one night stand, and even after that you swore you were going to avoid her at all costs; yet now I walk in to find the pair of you all coddled up like Jenny and Marina in the toilet stall at The Planet!'

'Okay, firstly; STOP watching the L word!' Alex rolls her eyes at Kara. 'I told you yesterday that you don't need to watch every single queer show ever made just to show your support for me, and secondly; nothing is going on between Lucy and I'.

'It's a good show, though I don't understand why everyone is so crazy about Shane'. Kara shakes her head as she ponders on it. 'Yes, she's kinda hot looking and she certainly has "nipple confidence", but her dress sense is all over the place and her hair looks like a nest of squirrels may be living in it. I much prefer Bette, even if she is married to Tina'.

'Seriously Kara, focus!' Alex snaps at her sister, not in the mood to discuss her new found urge to watch every single thing ever made that has an LGBT person in it (though RuPauls Drag Race is a new favourite for them both) and eager to find out why Kara wanted to speak to her in the first place. 'What was it you brought me out here for?'

'Oh, yeah, that'. Kara frowns as she remembers what she wanted with Alex. 'J'onn has been in contact with Agent Vasquez, and we might need to head back sooner than intended'.

That catches Alex's attention, as she know J'onn wouldn't suggest such a thing lightly, and switches into Agent mode instantly. 'What? Why wasn't I informed immediately? What did Vasquez have to say, has there been new activity we need to know about?'

'There's been a spike in unusual activity, though J'onn didn't specify exactly what, and it hasn't been confirmed as something for the D.E.O. to be involved with, yet, but he wanted us to be aware just in case we need to skedaddle a bit quicker that we were planning to'.

'Skedaddle?' Alex looks at Kara sceptically, knowing that J'onn would never say such a word, and wonders how much Kara isn't telling her.

'Yeah, you know'. Kara laughs nervously, which is always a sure sign she is not being completely honest. 'Scram, Vamos, Motorvate, do a runner?'

'Kara?' Alex gives her sister one of her patented "Just tell me the truth because you suck at lying" looks, and Kara cracks like Alex knew she would.

'Okay, so I _may_ have called Vasquez the other day, and _possibly_ asked her to flag up anything even remotely alien-y so that we'd be called back; with the intention of letting you avoid dealing with Lucy, and put the whole awkward "stuck on a base with the woman you accused of being a pervert" episode behind you'. Kara looks guilty, and avoids Alex's eyes.

' _Kara_ '. Alex sighs the name as she pinches the bridge of her nose, wishing her sister wasn't always meddling in her love life, though finds it hard to be mad when she knows Kara only did it to try and help her out of an awkward situation of her own making.

'I know, I'm sorry'. Kara practically whines her apology, knowing that she has messed up again as it had looked like Alex had been getting on fine with Lucy just now, and silently wonders if it would be possible to rewind time by flying super fast around the world anti-clockwise.

'You know what, it's fine'. Alex gives the younger girl a forgiving smile. 'I'll give Vasquez a call and get this whole thing sorted'.

Unfortunately for Alex, the phone call with Vasquez revealed that the D.E.O. contingent _was_ needed back, and Alex found herself behind the wheel of a Hummer within the hour.

Alex found she was disappointed to be leaving, having just cleared the air with Lucy, and took comfort from the fact that Lucy had looked just as disappointed when she'd broken the news of their sudden departure. Despite her reservations about becoming involved with Lucy, something she knew J'onn would frown upon given Lucy's status as a Metahuman, Alex really liked the woman, and had hoped it was possible for the two of them to become friends.

The trip back was uneventful (though J'onn would have preferred it if the Danver sisters had skipped the loud round of karaoke they did to Kara's "Best of Broadway" CD) and they had reached headquarters just after seven that evening. Once there however, things become decidedly _more_ eventful, as the "unusual activity" Vasquez had been monitoring turned out to be weather anomalies affecting the city, which have now morphed into full on frenzies.

Alex spends the rest of the evening dealing with the fallout from a tornado which, given that National City has never experienced one in the entirety of its written history, had meant that Cat had been blowing up Kara's phone non stop since it was spotted. Once the immediate threat had been taken care of, and the two buildings that had been in the path of it deemed safe, Kara had needed to fly straight back to Catco, leaving Alex by herself to hunt for clues as to the cause of such a random event.

Her breakthrough comes after two hours of fruitless searching, the rubble strewn ground offering nothing but broken glass and pieces of torn newspaper, when she stops to pet the affable pitbull companion of a homeless teen that was sitting in the semi sheltered corner of two buildings.

Alex gives the girl, who is probably no more than fifteen, a card with the details of a homeless shelter one of her friends mom's runs a few blocks from where they are, and tells her that they always have an extra bed should she need it. Alex explains that it was set up after her friends mom had watched her neighbours kid get kicked out of home, simply for daring to admit they were transgender and, after taking them in herself, had decided to help as many LGBTQ teens with unaccepting parents as she could.

Alex told the girl to mention her by name so that they'd let her furry friend in too, knowing that Susan would make an exception for her, and is just about to leave when the girl suddenly grabs her by the hand.

'It was a guy'.

Alex stops immediately, thinking that the girl is opening up about something that has happened to her, and squats down again to make sure she can hear properly. Alex knows how hard it is to admit something painful and, if this girl is confiding in her about a guy that has taken advantage, she doesn't want to have to ask her to repeat herself so places herself close enough to hear everything. Alex's mind is already whirling, calculating just how pissed J'onn will be at her for getting Vasquez to hack into National City's records database so that she can track down and kick the shit out of whatever cockwomble it may be, so she is surprised when the young girls next words are not what she expects.

'That tornado, it was made by a man'.

 **Its a short update, but hopefully the next chapter will be a bit longer. Thank you for the comments, they really do make my day x**


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